Hanoi, September 01, 2024, The Europe Today: Vietnam’s Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính, who also chairs the National Committee for Digital Transformation, has emphasized the need for a robust digital overhaul focusing on internal administrative processes and public services. Speaking at a hybrid national conference on Saturday, PM Chính underscored the importance of legalisation, digitisation, and automation as central to the country’s digital transformation strategy.
The conference, which connected central ministries, agencies, and 63 cities and provinces across Vietnam, aimed at improving the efficiency of online public services. PM Chính highlighted the objective of achieving “four no’s”: no paperwork, no cash, no contact unless legally required, and no one left behind.
To support this vision, PM Chính stressed the need for greater decentralisation and delegation of authority, enhanced resource allocation, and clearer delineation of responsibilities. He called for increased transparency, simplified administrative procedures, and improved data integration and sharing.
Other priorities include bolstering investment in digital infrastructure, fostering dialogue to address emerging issues, enforcing discipline to eliminate negative practices, and developing a skilled digital workforce. The Prime Minister urged ministries, agencies, and localities to transition from a “passive” to a “proactive” service approach, leveraging data to better serve citizens.
By 2025, PM Chính has set a target for all administrative procedures to be fully digitised, with at least 80 per cent processed entirely online. This goal aligns with Project 06, which aims to provide all 53 essential public services digitally.
Further, PM Chính called for the ongoing enhancement of Public Administrative Service Centres and one-stop-shop units, transforming them into digital hubs that offer seamless services to citizens and businesses, particularly vulnerable groups.
Currently, Vietnam has established a dedicated data transmission network down to the commune level and effectively utilized national databases for e-government development. With 82.2 per cent of households using broadband fiber-optic internet and 84 per cent of mobile phone subscribers using smartphones, digital engagement is increasing. Additionally, there are 55.25 million activated VNeID electronic identification accounts.
Public satisfaction with administrative procedures has risen from 90 per cent in 2022 to 93 per cent in August 2024. Vietnam’s online public services have improved, ranking 76th out of 193 countries, up five places from 2020, while open data ranked 87th, up ten places from the same period.
Since 2021, the Vietnamese government has streamlined nearly 3,000 business regulations, decentralised around 700 administrative procedures to local authorities, and added 1,800 online public services. This expansion has resulted in 4,400 services available on the National Public Service Portal, covering 70 per cent of all administrative procedures.
